Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 93312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
“Hi,” I say, the butterflies from earlier returning full force.
“Hi.”
We lock eyes, taking each other in, and suddenly, everything I had planned to say dies on my tongue. It’s only been a week, but I’ve missed him. His dark hair is perfectly disheveled, his lightning tattoo peeking out from the sleeve of his t-shirt. I guess he doesn’t care to cover it up now that I’ve seen it. I don’t know who moves first, but all of a sudden, I’m jumping into his arms, his hands gripping my ass as my legs wrap around his waist, our mouths colliding.
Thayer groans appreciatively, his hands squeezing my ass before he hitches me up higher, never once breaking our kiss. He flips us around, slamming my back to the wall next to the window as his tongue continues to fuck my mouth. He’s never kissed me like this, his tongue moving slow and sure in a way that consumes me. I’d say he missed me, too.
“Wait,” I say, pushing on his shoulders. “No kissing.”
“Yes, kissing,” he argues, his lips finding my throat. “I want to kiss other things, too.” His words send a jolt straight between my legs, and I arch for him, giving him better access. He’s hard between my legs already as he nips and sucks the sensitive skin between my neck and collarbone, and I can’t keep from rolling my hips into him.
“I’m mad at you,” I say aloud, and I don’t know if I’m talking to him or trying to remind myself.
“I know.” His warm palm slips beneath my sweatshirt, his thumb brushing against my piercing making me shiver, my nipple tightening beneath his touch.
“Explain.” My head falls back, every nerve ending tingling.
“Later.”
That single word cuts through the haze of lust, giving me the strength to stop this. Unlocking my legs, I slide down his body, then walk back over to my bed, putting some much-needed distance between us. If we’re going to do this, I need space.
“Now.”
Thayer turns to face me, raising an eyebrow.
“The other night,” I start, knowing he’s not going to offer information willingly. I’m going to have to pry it from him, piece by piece. “Do you regret it? Do you regret…me?” My heart pounds in my chest, my stomach swirling with nerves waiting for his answer.
The muscles in his jaw flex. He doesn’t say anything, but the look in his eyes tells me everything I need to know.
Thayer
Three long years of foreplay finally came to a head, and even in my wildest fucking dreams could I have imagined how good it would feel to finally be inside her. The fact that she was a virgin had me feeling more than a little conflicted. It complicates things, but at the same time, I fucking love that she waited for me. I tried to stay away. I even tried to go back to class. I thought some space from Shayne would do something to dull my need for her, but I should’ve known it wouldn’t work. She was gone for almost a year, and when she got back, it was like no time had passed at all. I made her out to be a villain in my mind, but when I look at her, all I see is my Shayne.
“The other night—do you regret it?” Her eyes beg me to say no. “Do you regret…me?”
I hesitate, not knowing how to answer that, and I see the hurt slice through her.
“Then why are you here?” she asks, her voice growing in pitch. “If you regret me, then why come here?” She walks over to the desk in the corner of her room, retrieving the hoodie I left in her car earlier. “What is this?” she demands, holding it out in front of me. “You fuck me, then you disappear. You take your jacket back, then you leave me this?” She throws it at me and I make no move to catch it, letting it fall to the floor at my feet.
“Coming here was a bad idea.”
“Why?” she asks, her tone growing frustrated. “Because you’re afraid you might feel something? Maybe even feel something for me?”
When I don’t respond, she continues.
“Because God forbid you ever show me anything real, right? Every time you start to let me in, you shut down, then say or do something hurtful to push me away.”
“You think I don’t feel?” I finally snap. “All I fucking do is feel since you’ve been back! And every time I see your face, I’m reminded of the night Danny died. The night I failed him. Because of you. And then I sleep with you, on the anniversary of his death of all days.”
She draws back, clearly hurt by my words. But they keep falling out of my mouth, unable to stop. “You want me to talk about my feelings?” I ask, closing the distance between us. Shayne’s pretty features tug into a frown, her delicate jaw tensing. “Every time I’m with you, it feels like a betrayal to him.”